Qualitative Investigation of the Influential Factors behind Unsafe Trucking Behaviors in India

Abstract

India ranks first in the global fatalities rate related to traffic accidents. India’s trucking industry is highly unorganized compared with that in developed countries, as a result of which drivers do not get professional recognition in society. Low income, job insecurity, high-fatigue conditions, and continuous exposure to external environmental conditions cause job dissatisfaction, and the majority of traffic accidents in India are caused by driver negligence. This study aims to systematically examine the underlying factors that cause drivers’ unsafe behavior from the following four assessment levels: personal, professional, organizational, and external factors. A purposeful sampling-based survey method was employed to collect the data. The findings of this study were compared with the opinions of the experts and results from previous studies in the literature. The study results found that the contribution of professional and organizational factors to unsafe behavior is greatest compared with external and personal factors. The study concludes with recommendations for reducing drivers’ risk through planned driving schedules, ensuring social security through welfare schemes, and improving driving performance through proper training programs for preventing and minimizing damage caused by accidents, and recommends policy-based measures to trucking companies and regulatory bodies for minimizing accident occurrence.

Performance measurement of road freight transportation: A case of trucking industry

“…As, the Indian road network is the second largest (33 lakh km) in the world and stretches to about 96,000 kms (1.7% of the road network) of national highways, which constitute around 40 % of the total road (MORTH, o utcome budget 2013-14). Road freight transport is the backbone of India's supply chain network, in which the trucking industry transports around 70% of India's total freight (Kumar Gangadhari and Kumar Tarei, 2021). This compares with 75% in Europe (Eurostat, 2020) and 63% in the USA (Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 2020).…”

“…The aspects related to performance and consequences impair the efficiency of the trucking industry, such as inefficiency in operating costs (Deloitte, 2022;De Oliveira et al, 2019), fleet management (Parihar et al, 2021), and training to promote business actions (Kumar Gangadhari and Kumar Tarei, 2021), and absence systematic technological advancement for better customer service (Kant et al, 2022a). As such, operators focus o n retaining the quality and performance under their jurisdiction at required operational levels (Karlaftis,and Kepaptsoglou,2 012).…”